We voted! We meaning Chuck and myself, but obv Barack was there too ;). First time voting by mail, super chill process but I think I prefer in person.
And WHY is voting important? Because it allows us to participate in the political process and participation helps us feel empowered and involved and hopeful and less likely to give in to fear-fueled, clickbait, divisive techniques used by extremists... illustrated here by this text that Chuck received from someone we know who doesn't live in Idaho. This is how dumb stuff happens, people. Completely false information, spread quickly in knee jerk reactions, causing paranoia and people acting on 'fight or flight' instead of thinking things through. So frustrating.
Do you know what downtown Boise was preparing for that day? A peaceful vigil.
Grateful that we (me and Barack) could attend. Really poignant evening, solemn, also energizing and hopeful.
Good reminder:
And some more thoughts that I shared on social media:
Instagram caption: [artwork by Minerva K. Teichert, used with permission via ChurchofJesusChrist.org]
Jesus left the 99 sheep to go search out the one missing sheep. He loved all of His sheep but one was in a perilous situation, all alone, and in need of immediate rescue. That one sheep mattered. It mattered enough to temporarily leave the other 99 on their own. As a teenager this frustrated me; I identified with the 99 and felt ignored and taken for granted. In my childish insecurity I probably might have muttered that ALL sheep matter. How shortsighted to think that it was a competition. To think that the Savior’s love and mercy was limited to only one sheep or group of sheep at a time. To think that rescuing and restoring to safety and health and dignity that one sheep somehow invalidated or threatened my safety or health or dignity. Jesus loved all 100 of His sheep, but in that moment One Sheep Mattered. Not more or less than the other sheep. But it mattered that the Savior seek that sheep out and save it. Black people don’t need anyone (‘cept Jesus!) to save them. My understanding so far is that they do need acknowledgment and validation and commitment to the study and eradication of white privilege and white supremacy at personal and societal levels. I’m open to redirection if I have misconstrued or misrepresented that need in any way. I generally have a problematically high opinion of myself and my wisdom and general coolness. In this situation I am more than willing to be humble and take direction and be uncomfortable in my effort to grow. Let’s do this thing.
Aaaand one more long political-type thing:
Instagram caption: This is quite possibly my new favorite picture: Will about to spit out water alllll over because I made him laugh really hard mid-drink. Just happened yesterday. I’m legit hilarious. Super funny. Ask anyone. I’ve been trying to figure out why I keep feeling SO compelled to wade into the social media fray about all of the current unrest in our country. At a personal level, I’m talking with my family and reading new books and learning and listening... but no matter how many times poor Chuck tells me to let things go and ignore posts that bother me, I just can’t right now. Am I worried that my reputation will shift from ‘comedienne extraordinaire’ to ‘lady who needs to chill a wee bit and stick to her social media lane: pictures of cute kids with funny and self-deprecating captions’? Nah. Because what would be even worse to me than losing other people’s respect would be losing my self-respect. Soooo grab some popcorn and feel free to hit the unfollow or unfriend button because it turns out I respect myself when I’m funny and also when I stand up for what I believe to be right.
The first weekend in June brought a chance to travel to Utah to celebrate my incredible niece Courtney in her high school graduation. Quarantine/pandemic/covid/whatever this time period was called - brought a lot of cost-benefit analysis, weighing options, checking for symptoms, checking recent data, praying, and then making decisions. Chuck had to work, but the kiddos and I packed up and hit the road.
... and found a just re-opened D.I.!!!!!
and also a hotel swimming pool and hot tub all to ourselves:
Okay, so at D.I. I mayyyy have found Davis High t-shirts for all five of us to wear. I normally have a very strict "wash before wearing" policy for all secondhand (and often firsthand) clothing, but I figured these clothes had been untouched for two months, so hopefully most germs had died off? and we wore them right away to Courtney's graduation party!
I promise Carma still has two legs.
How cute is this cake??
Social distancing doesn't exist when it's raining ;).
Rounded up some cousins/second cousins for a quick photo op: Carma (born May 2014), Maverick (born April 2014) and James (born October 2014).
And of course sent the pictures via Facebook to Grandma for her to see!
Carma found a very cozy spot to wait out the rain:
Ohhh Lily! Such a cute, spunky niece!
We ended the evening inside with... a play of some sort if I'm remembering correctly.
And some pictures of course:
Instagram caption: Court and I decided that since the theme of the 19-20 school year has been “hold on tight, who knows what’s coming next?” it was fitting for her graduation party too... hence pouring rain and thunderstorms the whole evening! 🎓⛈😂 Celebrating the hard work of this beautiful niece is worth the drive, allll the hand sanitizing, and investing in Davis High shirts for all of us to wear to the party 💛🤎💛 Courtney has been a source of love and joy to me ever since I met her darling two-year-old self and being one of her aunts is the best 😘.
The next morning we hit up church, hung out for a bit more cousin time,
stopped at Mallory's work to say goodbye to her,
and drove home (safely!) in this ;).
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